Monday, August 24, 2009

I recently had this simple little project with a very technical resolution. I have a client that needed to be able to show variations in color or various subjects. I launched into this tie exercise and it went swimmingly. One can change colors in Photoshop but I have never be able to do it up to my expectations. I do have another new (for me) software that is nothing short of amazing. The control is far superior and much simpler. As I pieced together the variations to send to the client, I began to appreciate the very nice graphic it created. Warholish if you would, only better. That's an unusual amount of Bravado for me. I do intend to do a master version to be printed and framed for mi casa.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

I may have mentioned in the past, we have gone through some great extremes to have a vegetable garden in our back yard. It has jokingly become known as the vegetable cemetery and the place that seeds go to die. Well, this year my wife, Kath, decided to grow carrots. We watched as they went through periods of trial and tribulation.Slowly emerging from my beautifully prepared soil, then seemingly going dormant. Then again, shooting up just as quickly as they had languished before. Anticipating their maturity, we'd occasionally pull one and they would be the tiniest of sprouts. We waited and yet we still had gherkin sized orange tubers. So we kicked our patience into gear and waited some more. (Is that an oxymoron?) The green tops flourished but the fruit of those tops were stagnant. Finally someone told us, when the foliage starts to whither, then and only then would the carrot be ready for harvest. OK, so the time seemed at hand and I began pulling. This is the first of those plucks. Holy schmoly, mutant veggies. The rest have even more bizarre shapes and clusters...ooops, sorry, a client just called and I need to move on...to be continued...OK, back to the veggies at hand. See below.

And to think I used to laugh at Ripley's "Believe it or not" or "Our own Oddities"

Post Note: Speaking of believe it or not. The ad below from Google appeared in the edit window of my blog.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I've tussled with this image for a while now. It is one of the few portraits that I've done on a plain background. I know it seems ludicrous but it just has never caught my fancy because that. I started with the modeled or Rembrandt background and without it, it seems wrong. People have commented that those backgrounds are so un-cool these days but somehow I think marriage of the new technologies and the old style feel somehow works for me. When you look at it, there is so little BG showing that you might wonder what is the fuss. Heck, I don't know, it's just a small splinter but it's annoying all the same..

It just occurred to me that I have shared with you my grandchildren, dog, Father and Father-in-law but not the most important person in my life. She inherited a certain stubbornness and cynicism but she loves to laugh and has so wonderful a smile. Here, she just seems completely happy and comfortable. It's one of my favorite images of her. I just recently unearthed it while sorting through some of my thousands of slides. Yes, film, remember that?Her given name is Mary Kathryn but is known by all as, "Kath". To me, she is my partner and the love of my life.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

I have no clue as to what this is. It has been growing and growing in our garden for over a month now. The base plant has many stems and it's over six foot tall. These buds however, are maybe three inches across or one inch each. Please let me know what you think they are. Thanks.

Blossoms show little progress from original.Stem Structure and hint of leafNow, WATIZIT?Anonymous seems emphatic, that it's an Elderberry. Do we all agree?